Remember the Titans
by Courier6000
Summary: Nuclear conflict, a superhero civil war, and a robotic revolution? Man, the future blows. What's the only logical way to fix all of this? Why it's to ban together the new boy wonder, a kid with two skins, a mutant freak, an alien who can't stop shooting lasers from her eyes, and a bounty hunting time traveler. Yeah... go team! Oh, don't worry, there's no OCs.
1. Hiatus

**A/N: I'm trying not to waste that much of your time during this little Author's Note. Unlike most people, I wasn't completely devastated by the cancellation of Teen Titans, I was sad, but not a wreck. This got me thinking about what happened after that fateful episode seven years ago. So, yeah, this is the next generation of Titans and I can guarantee most of your opinions will be decided over the overall theme of the story. Well, that and some of you DC-purists might not like one character. Don't worry, he's not an OC.**

**Also, the new Teen Titans are not the original five's children, they are five completely unrelated DC heroes. I believe all but one of story's new Titans were actually on the Teen Titans at one point or another.**

**Finally, every event in the Teen Titans show did occur. The AU comes from the rest of the DC Universe, regarding origins, costumes, and appearances.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own DC or the Teen Titans.**

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Chapter 1 - Hiatus

**2:36 P.M.**

**March 3, 2016**

**Jump City, CA**

"This is Lois Lane reporting for the Daily Planet on the recent, nuclear attack on the Bialyaian city of Amata," A slender, black-haired woman spoke through a television set, "The attack was reported early this morning. Qurac has denied any involvement and stated the nuclear attack was not in response to the airstrikes on the Quraci capital three years ago," Lois continued to speak professionally while pictures of rubble and dilapidated buildings were shown, "The attack has received no official word from the United Nations or the Justice League of America."

The television echoed throughout the empty apartment, its only viewer being one cybernetically-enhanced Victor Stone. He sat on the only piece of furniture in the one room apartment. His costume had not drastically changed over the last ten years. The only difference being the former blue highlights in his armor were now a neutral gray. He sat on the edge of a black couch, intently listening to the television set, focusing on each word that appeared on screen. His face didn't show surprise, however. He knew tensions were going to boil in the Middle-East again soon. Ever since the United States stepped up an even firmer military presence, the peace had been hollow and strained. Even the Justice League knew a storm was coming, a small group of Leaguers had been assigned to Bialya to uphold the peace.

Cyborg's thoughts were quickly subsided as violent tremors shook his apartment. The television fell off of its stand and shattered the screen. Cyborg himself hit the ground from the shaking, "What's goin' on?!" Cyborg asked seemingly no one. The tremors finally stopped after about thirty seconds, letting Cyborg recuperate his balance and composure, "That's weird, earthquakes don't normally hit Jump City," Cyborg rubbed the back of his head.

"That's because they don't," A muffled voice emitted from his couch.

Cyborg jumped a little from the scare, "Ah, c'mon man! I told you not to do that!" Cyborg dug through his couch cushions to find his shiny, new communicator. The new black and red Justice League design replaced the old yellow Titans paint, "Robin! How's it hanging man? I haven't seen you since-" Cyborg began.

"Cyborg, we have no time to chat," He responded, "And it's Nightwing," Robin, er, Nightwing had a complete costume redesign. His old green and red outfit was replaced with black armor with a dark blue 'V' on his chest.

"Oh, yea, forgot how serious you were," Cyborg rolled his eyes. Just like old times.

Nightwing shook his head slightly, "Listen, we have confirmation that this wasn't an earthquake," Nightwing reported.

Cyborg chuckled nervously, "What was it then? A nuke?" Cyborg joked.

"Precisely," Nightwing replied calmly, Cyborg's mouth gaped open and his eyes widened, "We believe it hit San Diego," Nightwing continued. Cyborg, however, did not get phased, he was still in shock. Nightwing sighed, "Look, you're the only one in Jump City, we need you to investigate, try and get some information."

"Uh, yeah, I'm still on the part when you said it was a nuke!" Cyborg finally spoke, "Why do I have to go? Can't Martian Manhunter, or Superman, or-"

"No, they're dealing with something a little more important at the moment," Nightwing revealed.

Cyborg furrowed a brow, "What can be more important than a freakin' nuke!?" Cyborg yelled to the communicator screen.

"Maybe the fact that there was no trace of ICBM's," He responded, making Cyborg even more awestruck.

Cyborg looked out of one of the apartment's windows, he could easily see the mushroom cloud over the San Diego area, "What? Then how would there be an explosion?" His voice started to lower.

"Adding to the problem is the fact there are no nuclear facilities near San Diego," Nightwing added.

Cyborg rubbed his chin, trying to make sense of this, "The whole thing doesn't make any sense."

"I know, but it doesn't have to make sense right now, Cyborg. We need you to get down to San Diego now," Nightwing demanded, "You can stay calm, we don't think this was an act of war."

"Stay calm? How can I stay calm when there was freakin' nuclear explosion!?" Cyborg yelled into his communicator.

"Listen, the Justice League isn't making that big a deal over this for some reason. Maybe there's something they're not telling us, but if these guys don't think it's that bad, you shouldn't either," Nightwing tried to calm his old friend down.

Cyborg groaned and his shoulders sank, "But why do I have to-" Cyborg randomly snapped his fingers, "Ah-a! Whose goin' to watch over Jump City while I'm gone?" Cyborg smiled, taking pride in his excuse.

Nightwing stood silently, "Dammit, you're lucky," He tried to hide his smirk from Cyborg, "I guess I'll get Changeling on this one."

"Changeling?" Cyborg asked.

"Beast Boy."

Cyborg's smile stretched from ear to ear, "BB!? Are you serious? Yes!" Cyborg started hopping up and down, "Aw man, I'm going to San Diego!"

"Uh, no, you're not," Nightwing abruptly stopped Cyborg's celebration, "You can't go to San Diego and watch Jump City at the same time," Nightwing said, making his voice high-pitched to mock Cyborg.

"Watchu talkin' about?" Cyborg pouted.

Nightwing started typing on an unseen computer, "Listen, I've already sent Changeling en route. All you need to do is stay put," He explained.

Cyborg flopped back on his black couch and sighed, "Man, things were a whole lot easier with the Titans, huh?"

Nightwing scratched his head, "Uh, yeah, Cyborg," He cleared his throat, "Listen, I have a lot to do, so uh..."

"Yea, bye," Cyborg said in a monotone.

"Uh, bye," Nightwing shut off his communicator, causing Cyborg's to emit only static.

Cyborg sighed and shut his off as well. He began staring at the broken television, remembering all the times he had with the Titans, good and bad. Their travels had taken them across the globe and then some, even if he did know Jump City like the back of his robotic hand. He remembered the last real adventure the five of them had before being accepted into the Justice League. They ended their title of 'Teen Titans' after they returned from Tokyo ten years ago. He remembered Terra, but he never knew what happened to her. All he remembered is getting betrayed by her. He remembered when they recruited all those new Titans for some reason.

"Wait," Cyborg sat up on his couch, "All those new Titans..." Cyborg's giant grin returned, "All those new Titans! Yes, we'll get new Titans!" Cyborg quickly grabbed his communicator and proceeded to smash buttons until he was connecting back to Nightwing.

"Hello- Gah!" Nightwing looked down at his communicator to see Cyborg with what looked like a very painful smile on his face. Nightwing awkwardly smiled back and waved, "What's with the smile?" Nightwing said slowly between his teeth.

Cyborg continued to stare into the screen, "We're going to get new Titans!" He yelled into the communicator.

"Uhhh, what?" Nightwing furrowed a brow.

"New Titans! We need a new Teen Titans!" Cyborg continued.

Nightwing threw this thought about in his head. Even if the Justice League did allow them to do this, where would they find members? They just don't make heroes like they used to, "Hey, I mean, I'll try and get them to pass it, but no promises my man."

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes! Thanks so much, Robin!" Cyborg shouted out in glee.

"Hey, it's Nightw-" Cyborg quickly shut off his communicator out of joy.

Cyborg once again flopped on his black couch, this time in a much more optimistic mood, "Aw, man, this time tomorrow, I'm going to be doing so much stuff! Not sitting around in here all day!" Cyborg continued to cheer, "Ahhh! I can't wait!"

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**2:36 P.M.**

**March 4, 2016**

**Hall of Justice, Watchtower**

"That is completely idiotic! Why would we need new Teen Titans?" Green Lantern was decimating Nightwing's request. Nightwing had kept good on his part and talked to the core members of the Justice League. They were 'discussing' it in the Hall of Justice, the very peek of the Justice League's Watchtower.

"Green Lantern, sir, Jump City needs an organized group to defend it against criminals, terrorists, and, well, bad guys in general," Nightwing continued his case.

Green Lantern face-palmed at the remark, "That's why we have Cyborg! Remember him?"

"Yeah, but just yesterday he was to report to San Diego to investigate the bombing, but he couldn't. Jump City needs more than one man watching it," Nightwing explained, trying to convince seven people to give him the 'okay' on this.

"We don't need more Teen Titans," Green Lantern sat back and looked at the rest of the table. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, and Martian Manhunter discussed among themselves.

"With everything going on, we're going to need more heroes," Nightwing continued his case even though no one was listening.

Green Lantern shook his head, "Look kid, its not going to happen, we don't have the money to spend on a project like this," He explained to Nightwing.

Nightwing scoffed, "When was defending the world about the money?"

"It's not simply about the money, kid," Green Lantern said matter-of-factly, "We would be putting young lives in danger. Do you know how close Jump City is to San Diego?"

"They'll be fine, why would someone send another nuclear bomb to California? That would be way too predicable," Nightwing stated, "Also, they're out of the fallout zone."

"Look, I know you think that was a nuclear weapon, but little Justice League secret: it wasn't," Green Lantern revealed, sparking Nightwing's curiosity.

"Green Lantern, enough," Martian Manhunter stepped in to restore order. The entire case was only creating fierce debate between Nightwing and Green Lantern.

Green Lantern sat back in his chair and held back his anger, "Kid, I was once like you; naive, arrogant, clueless, and um... Well, yeah, you're all of those things," Green Lantern cleared his throat, "If the Justice League spends the money on these Titans, we may not be able to afford the Watchtower," He revealed, nodding to Nightwing's surprise, "They really mean it when they say the economy's hitting everyone," He let out a slight chuckle.

The group of tightly huddled superheroes disbanded and turned to Nightwing, "Nightwing," Superman began, "The Justice League will allow you to start a new branch of the Teen Titans and they shall be officially recognized," As Superman spoke, Green Lantern's expression turned to shock, "However, the Titans shall receive no funds from the Justice League and their first assignment will be to help with the San Diego relief effort," Superman spoke for the entire Justice League.

"Thank you all," Nightwing turned to leave the Hall of Justice.

"Nightwing wait," Batman stopped him in his tracks. Batman stood up from the table and followed Nightwing out the door, "I think I have your first member," He revealed as the two traveled throughout the Watchtower's never-ending maze of corridors.

Nightwing furrowed a brow, "You found someone already?" He said in surprise.

"Yeah," Batman abruptly stopped, "Tim."

"Tim?" Nightwing raised a brow, "God, people are so generic with their superhero names nowadays."

Batman held back the slight smile that tried to creep onto his face, "No, Robin."

"Hey, I told you, it's Nightwing now."

Batman sighed, "No, Tim is Robin."

"Ohhhh. Wait, there's _another _Robin?"

"Enough, Nightwing. If you need new Titans, I'll be glad to lend you Tim," Batman offered.

"Really? Are you sure he's ready?" Nightwing asked.

"I know he's ready, Richard," Batman grabbed Nightwing's shoulder, "He won't let you down, plus the interaction with other heroes will be a good thing."

Nightwing nodded, "I'll pick him up on my way to Jump City."

"Thank you," He shook Nightwing's hand.

"I'm just not sure how we can start this with no funding," Nightwing admitted.

Batman squinted his eyes, "You won't need to worry about money, Wayne Enterprises can certainly cover any expense."

Nightwing rubbed the back of his head, "No, I couldn't ask you to do that," Nightwing humbly stated, "This is my problem, not yours."

"Well, it's the Justice League's problem now," Batman teased, although it was in his usually serious voice, making it hard to tell.

"Thanks, Bruce," With that, Nightwing walked further down the corridor, leaving Batman's sight. Tim had been reliable thus far for him, being on his own shouldn't make that much of a difference. However, all he could do now is hope.

Nightwing himself had absolutely no clue as to how he was going to find new members for the Titans. Maybe there were some sidekicks he could steal, er, borrow for the new team. Not very likely, however. Ever since his generation of heroes grew up, the rate of heroes being born significantly decreased. Wait, this wasn't his problem. This was Cyborg's idea, he can find the kids himself. He'll just go to Jump City with Tim, drop him off, and then be on his merry way.

* * *

**8:08 P.M.**

**March 4, 2016**

**Mojave Desert, NV**

"Yo, man, pass the dipping sauce," A perfectly plump man said to his companion. The two were dressed in military uniforms, eating fast-food as they nonchalantly scanned over dozens of tiny computer screens. The other 'soldier' passed the requested sauce, "You see anything man?" He joked to his companion.

The other, thinner man kicked off of his desk and rolled across the room on his chair, "No, just like always," He replied, "Hey, do you know when the D-boys are going to be rolling through?"

The chubby man focused away from his intense chicken nugget binge, "Delta? Why the hell are they coming here?"

The other man shook his head, "I don't know man, they said something about San Diego."

"What? Why would they need to go to San Diego? It was literally shot into the sea," The chubby man explained what the other man already knew.

"I guess there's survivors," The other man figured, shrugging his shoulders.

"You know, when I signed up for the Army, I thought there would be more terrorists," The chubby man went back to observing his computer screens.

The other man laughed, "Yeah, you'd be hard to hit," He teased, "You're literally a broad-side of a barn."

"Yea, well, that's only because I'm stuck watching for meteors and freakin' UFOs," The chubby man tried to justify his complexion.

The other man chuckled once more, "Oh, yeah, totally. It has nothing to do with all the fast foo-" He was cut off by a rapid beeping from a computer to his left. The two gave each other blank stares before quickly fumbling with their tools for calculating the emergency.

"What's going on? What's happening?" The chubby man pelted him with questions.

"Oh," The other man said with a sigh of relief, "It's only some debris; it should burn up in the atmosphere," He went back to relaxing on his chair as alarms blared.

The beeping from the computer got more intense by the second. The chubby man took notice and rolled over to it. He carefully observed the screen; it showed what looked like a purple rocket hurling straight for Earth, "Uh, I don't think this is debris," The chubby man pointed at said screen, the other man looked in shock.

The other man quickly picked up a phone and tried calling his superiors, but the line's dial-tone was completely absent, "Oh man, game over, man! Game over!" The other man yelled to his friend as the rocket was now identified as coming straight for the base.

The alarms and beeping intensified as the rocket approached, "Get down!" The chubby man threw himself and his friend on the floor. In a couple seconds, the purple rocket smashed through their station from the night's sky, tearing off the top half and destroying all electronics in the small tower. The rocket continued to decimate its way throughout the installation, completely breaking through buildings and fences. Soldiers scattered to assess the situation at rapid speeds.

The rocket smashed its way out of the base entirely, skidding against the soft sands of the Mojave and pinning down any vegetation it hit. It finally started to lose momentum as it collided with several large boulders. As it pulverized boulder after boulder, one of the rocket's four engines erupted in flames and subsequently exploded. The rocket now violently tumbled, rolled, and thrashed about. The collisions and fuel from the engines allowed the rocket to gain some lift. This lasted for a record five seconds, until it sped into the ground nose first. It finally, and brutally, stopped in a small expanse of land between two mountains overlooking Las Vegas, leaving a trail of dust behind it.

The base's personnel started flooding out of their respective building either to help those trapped under the rubble, tend to their own wounds, or even flee entirely. Even though it showed its destructive force, almost no mind was put towards the purple rocket that had ripped through the base. With the medical building being destroyed by the rocket, medics and nurses on the base rushed to get the injured to the hastily-built, makeshift doctor's tent. In the few seconds in which all this happened, the doctor's tent was quickly set up with whatever supplies they could scavenge.

The purple rocket, for once, stood in place, smoke rising from the almost-destroyed machine. The air was eerily silent as the rocket rested on the Mojave sand. The top of the rocket's nose flashed a red light that would intensify then disappear entirely for a few seconds. A slight ring sounded and the red light turned a bright green. A hissing noise sounded as a hatch slightly opened and air was released from the inside.

The hatch automatically opened the rest of the way then fell of completely. A click sounded from inside the 'cockpit' and the ship spat out a young, blonde girl clad in a black jumpsuit. She was disoriented as she tried to scrambled on the sandy ground. She finally got on all fours only to feel an intense pain in her stomach. Before she could scream, she began vomiting profusely on the earth around her.

"What's the matter, little lady? Couldn't take the landing?" The girl looked up to the source of the noise. It was a man dressed in a general's uniform, his balding white hair contrasted his jet-black mustache and eyebrows, "That was some show you had at my base, so I'd suggest you come with us peacefully," He motioned to an entire armed platoon of soldiers and APCs pointing their weapons in her direction. The girl continued to stare at the general talking to her. She had no idea what he was saying, it seemed to be an entirely different language.

The girl did not move, she was petrified in fear. The troops turned on massive lights that shined in her direction causing the girl to bring her hand up to shield her eyes. Two soldiers ran up to her, one carrying a pair of handcuffs, the other serving as backup. The girl observed the two as they slowly and carefully approached her. The soldier with the handcuffs knelt down beside her and closed one cuff on her left wrist.

Once she felt the cold metal touching her skin, she instantly pulled her hand back, taking the soldier with it. Unable to get him off her wrist with that motion, she threw her arm forward, sending the soldier through the air screaming until he hit one of the APCs. The general watched as the man forcefully collided with the vehicle and instantly gave the command to open fire. The girl started to sprint away from the noise of the guns firing, but her steps started to lift her off the ground.

Now running in mid-air, she tried to find a way to get herself back onto the earth. Several bullets lodged themselves into her black jumpsuit, but did not penetrate her skin, surprisingly. She flailed about the air, screaming from pain as each round hit her. The APCs followed, shooting their mounted high-caliber rifles as they drove towards her. One of said rounds hit the girl in the back of the head, causing her to wildly spin downwards until she embedded herself back-first into the base of one of the mountains.

"Hold your fire! Hold your fire!" The general screamed to his soldiers. Each troop and vehicle instantaneously stopped firing, "There's no way she could of survived that," He mumbled to himself as he approached her resting place with his hands behind his back. The whirring of a helicopter overhead invaded everyone's ears. He looked up to the helicopter and waved his arms towards them.

The girl started screaming in terror as her eyes produced a set of red beams. The shock from the scream was enough to make the general jump, but the beams caused him to dive out of harm's way. Unable to control the beams her head recoiled around from the constant heat beams. The beams tore the helicopter clean in half causing an explosion in the air and a ton of raining debris.

"Get down!" The general ordered his troops as he covered his head, bracing for impact. The soldiers stayed in the same position, awaiting the helicopter to finally hit the sand. That moment, however, never happened, "What the?" The general looked upwards to see the helicopter suspended in the air, still burning.

"Hey, Eiling!" A voice called out among the floating wreckage. The helicopter gently touched ground and the voice who had called Eiling's name gracefully floated over to him. It was none other than Superman, man of steel, "I believe this is yours," He smirked as he dropped the helicopter's pilot that he had also been carrying.

"Superman," Eiling acknowledged his presence with a touch of hate, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm here about that," Superman pointed to the girl who was currently on her back, shooting beams into the night's sky. Superman flew over to her with a sudden burst of speed. He put his hand over her eyes, taking the full damage of the heat beams while not even flinching, "Stop!" Superman clearly ordered.

The girl finally spoke, screaming in a language unknown to the rest of the soldiers, but Superman recognized it. His eyes widened as he matched the words together. It was Kryptonian.

"Sir, shall I commence?" A soldier clad in a hazmat suit asked general Eiling who simply nodded. The soldier rushed towards the two, Superman still deflecting her eye-beams.

Superman turned to look at the approaching soldier, "What are you doing? Get out of here!" He used his spare hand to point off into the distance.

"I'm sorry, sir," The soldier's words caused Superman to furrow a brow. The soldier opened one of his vest pouches and pulled out a glowing green rock, a piece of Kryptonite. He held it next to the two, finally ending the beams and burning Superman's hand in the process.

"What are... you doing?" Superman summoned all of his strength to yell at the soldier.

"My job," He simply responded, moving the Kryptonite closer to the man of steel. Superman let out an exhausted mumble, then he slumped over to the ground, unconscious.

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**A/N: And that's the first chapter to my first Fanfiction! Hurrah! Wasn't too bumpy, was it? Oh, and no, those were not fictional countries in the beginning. Well, they are, but they're DC's.**


	2. Ain't that a Sidekick in the Head?

**A/N: Ha, I said Dick.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or DC.**

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Chapter 2 - Ain't that a Sidekick in the Head?

**3:39 P.M.**

**March 5, 2016**

**Wayne Manor, outside Gotham City**

A luxurious deep red sports car slowly drove into the entrance to the Wayne Manor. Said manor had been the symbol of elegance in the crime ridden town of Gotham City. The red sports car seamlessly blended in with the fleet of expensive foreign vehicles as it parked. Wayne Manor was surrounded by a vast expanse of perfectly green grass dotted by brightly colored flowers. The engine shut off and the car door slid upwards, letting out its driver. The man was dressed in a black suit with a dark blue dress shirt and wore a pair of sunglasses, keeping his eyes a secret. Nightwing had taken on his secret identity as mild-mannered Dick Grayson.

Dick left his car and stepped up to the large, extravagant doors of the manor. He rang the door's unnecessarily decorated doorbell and awaited the manor's butler. The faint sound of rapid footsteps came from behind the door, getting louder as each second passed. The front door slowly opened inwards, "Hey there!" A high pitched voice screamed out.

Dick looked straight ahead, expecting to see Alfred, the manor's butler, "Uh..." Dick quickly glanced left, then right.

"Down here!" The voice replied to his confused, this time sounding slightly irritated.

Dick looked downwards, spotting a very young boy who was also in a full suit, "Oh!" Dick cleared out his initial confusion, "Are you Tim?" He asked with a hint of disappointment.

"Tim? No, silly, I'm Damian," The young boy introduced himself and let out a hand.

Dick followed the gesture, shaking Damian's hand. He was surprised at how strong the kid was, he didn't look more than five, "Dick," He introduced himself as well, releasing his hand, "Are you one of Tim's friends?"

"Yeah, since he works for my dad, I guess we get along," Damian explained.

Dick furrowed a brow, "Wait, your dad?"

Damian shook his head rapidly, "Yeah, my dad's Bruce Wayne!" He said excitedly.

"Oh, he has a kid too?" Dick mumbled under his breathe, "I'm going to kill the hermit."

"What?" Damian picked up on Dick's murmuring.

"Nothing," Dick said, not wanting Damian to hear him, "Hey, do you know where Tim is?" Dick crouched to get on Damian's eye level. Damian nodded, taking Dick's hand and tugged the former boy wonder behind him without a word. Damian sprinted through the manor's many winding corridors and hallways, passing priceless paintings and sculptures.

"C'mon, hurry up!" Damian looked back at Dick who was awkwardly slouched over as he let Damian tug him by his arm. It seemed as if the young boy wanted to kill him as he ripped Dick through several sharp turns in the manor's halls.

"So, Damian, do you know what your father does?" Dick asked as he was continually tugged with no rest.

Damian continued to speed through the manor at an alarming rate, "Yeah, he's a billionaire! I think he builds stuff," He responded, Dick took note of Damian's naivety to his father's alter-ego.

"Do you by chance know what he builds?" Dick continued the innocent conversation, it was best to leave a child this young out of his secret world.

Damian thought back to previous talks with his adored father, "Yeah, he says he builds things that keep America safe," Damian replied. The way he said it was odd, however. Dick couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was a hint of attitude, "But I know he makes weapons. The kind that hurt people," Ah, there it was.

Wayne Enterprises had a history in making weapons for the military. These were not mere rifles and cannons, however, they were more advanced weapons such as cybernetics. Its only true rival being the equally as successful LexCorp, "Well, that's the price of peace, Damian."

"But what if the bad guys take them?" Damian asked, still leading Dick through the mansion.

Dick thought about this problem, but it didn't seem very likely. Then again, the world was going into chaos-mode all of sudden, "Then we destroy them," Dick said, not really thinking about sugar-coating his words.

Damian pondered his words, silently thinking them over, "Oh, we're here!" Damian suddenly stopped causing Dick to shoot over the child and land face first in the clear, glass door.

Dick looked through the glass door, seeing Tim lounging on the manor's main balcony. He was sitting on a brown leather suitcase looking out into the rolling hills of outer-Gotham. He looked out of place in the elegant mansion, he was wearing a simply red T-shirt and jeans. His hair was much longer than Dick's, he looked like your average delinquent, to be honest. Dick noticed he had already acquired 'The Glare.' The glare that people that spend long expanses of time with Batman would adopt. It's as if a piece of the Dark Knight would rub off onto his apprentices. Dick had it, Jason had it, and now Tim.

"This is going to be fun..." Dick sarcastically muttered under his breathe before opening the glass door. Tim heard the door's faint creak and instantly spotted the approaching former Robin, "Hey there, Tim," Dick waved his hand as he continued to walk towards Tim.

Tim did not respond, he simply observed Dick. Clear of any suspicions, Tim finally greeted Dick with a simple, "Hey," His voice reminded Dick of himself during his late teens.

Dick slowly shut the glass door, making sure Damian could not hear their conversation, "Nice kid," He said with a slight smirk.

Tim simply nodded, "I'd like to see you say that when you have to live with the twerp," The new boy wonder spat out.

Dick didn't know how to respond to the unexpected comment, "Uh, yeah," He chuckled nervously, "Listen, I'm-"

"Dick Grayson, Nightwing," Tim cut him off nonchalantly, "So, are we going to Jump City or not?" He tilted his head slightly to the side.

"Bruce told you, I presume?"

"No," Tim returned once more to staring at the green hills, "I'm just that good," He added with a smirk unseen by Dick.

The glass door behind the two opened once more, causing the pair to quickly turn to the source of the noise, "Ah, Master Grayson, I was not aware you had arrived," An older man with grayed hair in a tuxedo greeted his former friend. This was Alfred, the Manor's butler and personal friend to Batman and his many sidekicks.

Dick was overjoyed to finally see a familiar face. Alfred had been his mentor and family a decade ago when he was still Robin, "Hey, Alfred!" He greeted his friend out of pure excitement, "I was just about to take Tim to Jump City," Dick explained to the servant.

Alfred furrowed a brow, "And how do you to expect to do this?"

Dick was confused by his question for the answer was quite simple, "Uh, Gotham International."

Alfred let out a friendly chuckle, "You mean the Gotham International that was destroyed during Mammoth's latest rampage?"

"Mammoth? They let that guy out of Arkham?" Dick asked, surprised by the new information.

"Do you really think they let people like him out of Arkham? I swear, even after all of these years, you've still learned nothing," Alfred responded to his question, slightly irritating Dick.

"Well, at least I know it's not worth having to lock all of these freaks up time and time again," Dick countered feeling satisfied with his answer.

"Again, I swear you've learned nothing," Alfred struck the final blow of the conversation. He opened the glass door and stepped back into the manor, "If you're going to take Master Drake, do it now. Master Wayne hates good-byes!" He yelled back to the pair outside.

Dick raised a brow and a smirk inched its way across his face, "Wait, Bruce or Damian?" He asked Alfred.

"I would like to think both," Tim and Dick both smiled at the butler's response.

Dick glanced back to Tim, "You know, he's right, we should get going," Tim nodded in response, sliding off his suitcase, "Do you have everything you need?" Again, Tim responded with a simply nod.

The two silently backtracked through the manor, occasionally getting lost on their way out. Not a single word was uttered. They had successfully bypassed Damian as they made their escape. It was a fairly trivial task to avoid the child as you can easily lose yourself in the mansion if you weren't careful. Dick reopened the elegant main doors and was reunited with his beloved car.

"So, how are we getting to Jump City? Metropolis?" Tim finally spoke up as they walked out into the fresh air.

"Why would we go to Metropolis? There's a perfectly fine airport in Bludhaven," Dick answered with a hint of pride.

Tim thought for a second, "Hey, isn't Bludhaven your town?"

"Yeah, pretty nice place," Dick responded before tossing Tim's luggage into his already full trunk. His trunk contained his costume and various Nightwing-themed tools, weapons, and gadgets.

Tim opened the passenger door to the red sports car, "So, why'd you leave Batman anyways?" This had always been on Tim's mind. Why would someone want to quit being the Caped Crusader's partner in crime? Figurative crime, of course.

Dick was never really asked this question, most people thought it was over some falling out the two had, "I wanted to be my own man, you know? Didn't want to be the 'Boy Wonder' all my life," Dick explained as he climbed into the luxury car.

"Were you two fighting?" Tim continued to attack Dick with an arsenal of questions.

Dick shook his head and turned on the cars engine, "No, I simply felt my time as Robin was over."

The car finally drove out of the manor grounds, finding its way in the beautiful countryside, "How do you know when your time is over?" Tim asked, breaking the silence once more.

"You just do," Dick answered as he continued their drive to Bludhaven, "Some day, you'll do the same."

"Nah, being Robin is way too cool," Tim denied Dick's statement, "I wouldn't want work on my own."

"You say that now. Listen kid, I was once like you...," Dick stopped in his tracks, remembering Green Lantern's talk before.

"I'm serious," Tim's tone got increasingly sterner. Dick nodded with fake acceptance. Even if Tim didn't know it, he will leave Batman. You can't be the Boy Wonder if you're in your late twenties.

* * *

**4:23 P.M.**

**March 5, 2016**

**Mojave Desert, NV**

"Ugh... Wha..." Superman started to stir, his vision tried to clear itself as he moved slightly about, "Wh-what's going o-on?" He was able to make out the basic beige coloring of the supposed room.

"Why don't you tell me?" Superman recognized that voice. General Eiling. His voice instantly restored Superman man's vision and senses. He discovered he was simply sitting in his office, much like a middle school delinquent. The room was extremely bland with only his large wooden desk providing decoration. The room was completely windowless, Superman had no idea how long he had been unconscious.

Superman checked to see if he was restrained at all. To his surprise, he was completely free, "Where's the girl?" He weakly asked the general while still trying to make sense of things.

Eiling sighed, "She's fine, you don't have to worry," He reassured the man of steel, "Now, what happened? Why is their a Kryptonian crash landing on my base?" Eiling repeated.

"Where did you take her?" Superman asked, squinting his eyes in an attempt to intimidate the general.

General Eiling sank back further into his chair, "I'm the one asking questions, Superman."

Superman slammed his fist on the arm of the chair, breaking it, "Tell me where the damn girl is!" He yelled in a fit of unreasonable rage.

"You know I have to pay for that," Eiling calmly joked, motioning to the now broken chair.

"Do you think this is a game?" Superman stood up, towering over Eiling.

"No, but if it was I'd be winning," Eiling smirked, "Now, are you going to answer me now?" Superman turned his head in response, staying silent, "What happened, Superman?" Eiling persisted, his voice getting more commanding.

Superman's shoulders dropped as he realized he was fighting a losing battle. He gently sat back into his chair, "I'm not sure. All I know is the girl is definitely Kryptonian."

"Yeah, we already know this," Eiling said, tapping his fingers on his desk impatiently, "Do you know who she is?"

Superman shook his head, "No, I was a child when I left Krypton. Whoever that is must have been stuck in space for quite a few years before landing here," Superman hypothesised, Eiling nodded his head in agreement.

"She doesn't take kindly to my soldiers, she attacked them on sight. Maybe she's a criminal," Eiling said causing Superman to furrow a brow.

"How do you expect someone to act after they've been alone in space for years on end?" Superman asked, sticking up for his fellow alien.

"Reasonable," Eiling simply responded.

Superman let out a quick chuckle, "Good luck."

"Superman, come in. Superman, come in," The man of steel subtly jumped from the sudden interruption. Superman pulled out his JLA communicator which was being contacted by none other than the Flash.

"I have to take this," Superman announced to Eiling who shook it off, "Hello?" He spoke towards the screen.

"Hey there big guy, I kind of need your help," Flash said, the scenery behind him was blurred by his rapid movement, "So, Mammoth's out again." He informed his friend nonchalantly.

"Don't you ever call to say 'hi'?" Superman joked.

"I thought I was the smart-ass," Flash whined, "Your going to need to find another Justice League if you're going to keep that up."

Superman shook his head, "Fine, sorry, what do you need, honey?"

"Everyone else is busy, and I don't think our rag-tag group can hold him off," Flash explained, dodging an incoming car.

"How is everyone else busy?" Superman asked surprised.

Flash stayed silent for a moment, "I dunno."

Superman's face became emotionless, " I was the first one you call, wasn't I?" He deadpanned.

Flash shrugged his shoulders, smirking wildly, "Can't go wrong with the best."

"Listen, I'm actually busy right now. Get Wonder Woman or someone," Superman told Flash while moving to shut off the communicator.

"Wonder Woman? Ugh, dude she's like your knockoff," Flash said dryly, "With knockers!" He added.

"Great, I'll let her know you said that," Superman replied.

"Please don't," Flash pleaded.

Superman chuckled and turned off his communicator and put it away. He turned his attention to an irritated Eiling, "Sorry about that," He half-heartedly apologized.

"Are you quite done?" Eiling rested both of his arms on his desk. Suddenly, a blood curdling scream pierced both of their ears. It was undoubtedly the Kryptonian girl's voice. Superman and Eiling both shot up from their seated positions, "Stay here," Eiling sternly commanded.

"Like hell I will," Superman spat back.

"This isn't up for debate," Eiling tried to order the man of steel, only to be shoved out of the hero's way, "Hey! Get back here!" Eiling's shouts fell on deaf ears as Superman walked out of his office.

The fresh air hit Superman's face harder than Chris Brown hits women. I could have probably used a better comparison, but YOLO. So, yea, Superman took a step outside to be greeted by several soldiers pinning down the Kryptonian girl with pieces of weaponized Kryptonite. She had apparently broken out of the steel transportation table she was being carried on.

"Hey! Stop!" Superman protested and rushed over to the scene. The girl was simply lying on the soft Mojave sand as the Kryptonite's effects swept over her.

"Pisses you off when people don't listen to you, doesn't it?" Eiling calmly strolled out of his office-building with his arms folded behind his back. He glanced over to the girl and soldiers, "A shame," He commented.

Superman glared at Eiling with a mix of surprise and hate, "You're treating her like some animal!"

Eiling shook his head, "No, we're treating her like a criminal," Eiling corrected the hero.

Superman glared daggers towards Eiling, who wasn't phased, "Let her go," Superman commanded, clenching his teeth together. Eiling did not respond, "By the authority of the Justice League of America, release this girl."

Eiling laughed at Superman's order, "Do you think that carries any weight nowadays?" Eiling turned to his soldiers whom were now loading the now unconscious Kryptonian girl, "Get her prepped for transport," He ordered his men.

Superman watched as the soldiers lifted her back on to the metal table. He thought of how he could possibly convince Eiling to let her go. You could almost see the light bulb flash over Superman's head as his mind concocted the solution to his predicament. He flew off into the sky, increasing his speed with each passing second. Soon Eiling and his men covered their ears as a loud crack resulting from the break in the Sound Barrier occurred.

Eiling shrugged, guessing he flew away out of rage. He began walking back to his office to finish some paperwork he was working on when the girl arrived. He had to approve of the destruction of certain, older files. He was reading something about a biological serum from World War Two. It was interesting to him to say the least. Again, a loud crack was heard over the base causing Eiling and the other soldiers to look up towards the sky.

It was Superman, who had not been gone for more than ten seconds, that flew over the base. He gently landed near Eiling with a smirk on his face, "Sir, you have a call," One of the office guards stepped out of the building. Eiling raised a brow and turned back to Superman, his smirk grew wider. Eiling nodded slowly and walked inside the building. The faint sound of ringing ended as Eiling picked up the phone.

Superman turned back to the girl who was being moved to another one of the base's many buildings, "Hey, you guys," The soldiers instantly perked up, "I would stop moving her," The soldiers obeyed an let go of the table without hesitation.

Screaming was heard from inside the office. Not screams of fear or pain, they were hate-filled shouts. It sounded as if Eiling was having a fierce debate with whoever was on the other end of the line. The yelling continued for a solid two minutes before Eiling stepped out of his office. He wiped his uniform down to look presentable to his soldiers and Superman, "Boys, let her go," He ordered his men.

"Yes, sir," The soldiers said in sync, releasing the restraints on the table.

Eiling glared at Superman, "Go ahead," He reluctantly summed up the power to let the words escape.

"Gladly," Superman walked over to the table, the soldiers stepped back and filed into Eiling's office building. The hero picked up the girl, carefully cradling her in his arms.

"Wherever you're taking her, make sure it's away from the public," Eiling suggested to Superman.

Superman nodded, "Of course," He flew off with the Kryptonian girl in his arms. Eiling simply shook his head in disapproval.

* * *

**12:34 A.M.**

**March 6, 2016**

**San Diego, CA**

"Lorena... Lorena, wake up," A voice called out amidst the complete darkness, "Lorena, wake up. Now!"

"Huh?" Lorena's deep blue eyes snapped open, "Mom? Dad?" She looked around her room in confusion. She was still in bed, her room was perfectly normal. The air was extremely thick, it was hard to move in as she wiggled about. She pushed herself to the ground beside her bed with all of her strength. She felt like she was in a dream, or more accurately, in a nightmare.

"Hello!?" She yelled, but only a small fragment of her sultry voice escaped her mouth. Yup, this was definitely a nightmare.

Lorena struggled to move through her room, the air seemed to be turning solid with each passing moment. She firmly gripped the handle of her bedroom door and slowly opened it. The usually decorated hallway outside of her room was completely stripped, only the wood floor and pristine white walls remained. The air was just as strong in the hallway as in her bedroom. Lorena took a deep breathe and turned to her front door. It was down the right side of the hallway past the living room.

She carefully proceeded down the hallway, her arms extended to touch both walls. Her breathing became more rapid and uneasy as she continued down her house. The air felt like it was stabbing her tanned skin as she pushed along. The house took on an unusual blue tint as she continued to the door. A bright light was shinning through the small window on the upper part of the main door.

"Hurry, check in here," She heard a faint, muffled voice from outside her house. A large crack sounded soon afterward.

Lorena made her way to the living room, which was also completely stripped bare. The door was so close, yet so far away. She gathered the strength to move forward. With each step the door got closer, but her already apparent exhaustion increased. She noticed the curtains floating as if there was no gravity. The fear from this kicked her adrenaline into overdrive. The sudden energy made it slightly easier to walk, but this didn't last very long.

Her breathing was heavier and more desperate than it had ever been her entire life. Lorena just wanted this nightmare to end. She constantly widened her eyes in hopes that she would find herself back in her room in the middle of the night. Lorena's salvation never arrived. Instead, she continued to push herself to the door, each step was almost impossible. The light from her door was slowly fading the closer Lorena got.

"All clear?" The same faint voice from before sounded off.

"Yes, sir," Another voice replied.

Lorena's fear slowly drained as she struggled to hear the two. Judging by the way the two spoke, she gathered that they were military personnel. She finally stepped up the door, she was so close she could touch it. She raised her right arm to grab the handle. Lorena managed to lift it about five inches before it fell back down to her side. It felt as if something was pushing down on her to the point that she could barely stand on her own.

"In here, yes, check in here," The commanding voice spoke once more. It sounded much more closer and clearer than before.

Lorena collapsed onto her knees from the overwhelming pressure. She tried desperately to grasp the handle on the door, but her attempts were in vain. Unbelievably, the pressure began to increase, forcing Lorena to lie on her back. Someone, or something, began to forcibly strike the door from the outside. Lorena's vision began to blur as the rescuers, or possible intruders, finally managed to open a hole in the front door. She began blacking out as she heard the door get busted in from the outsiders.

Lorena picked up the sound of heavy footsteps as they entered her house, "There's one, sir."

"Help me..." She weakly spoke as she fought to keep consciousness.

The footsteps stopped for a brief moment, "It spoke, she's still alive!" The pair rushed over to her. She could barely make out the two of them as they stood over her. One was wearing some sort of knight-like armor, the other was much more muscular and wore what looked like an orange shirt.

"Hurry, take her to the rest of them!" The man in the orange seemed to be in charge.

"Yes, sir," The man in armor took Lorena into his arms and jumped out of the house. Lorena's struggle to stay awake was rapidly failing as they drifted downwards. When she felt the sensation of falling, her eyes instantly snapped open. For a brief moment, Lorena's battle with blacking out was almost nonexistent. As she looked upwards, she saw not the sky, but water instead. She quickly scanned the area, countless houses were sinking to the bottom of the ocean. With her mind driven to the point of passing out, she didn't even try to make sense of this. She never even paid any mind to the fact that she was breathing in water, not air.


	3. Shock and Awesome

**A/N: I don't watch Young Justice. However, as I was searching the ol' Interwebs, I stumbled across it. It turns out that Young Justice's second season is set during 2016. I just wanted to say that this story has no connection to Young Justice's plot whatsoever.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or DC.**

* * *

Chapter 3 - Shock and Awesome

**3:24 PM**

**March 7, 2016**

**Jump City, CA**

"Welcome to the big city!" Dick raised both of his hands as the commercial airliner landed on one of Jump City's airports. The ride had been long and Tim had to take a wicked piss. Every time he had aimed to use the restroom, someone would speed off inside it before him. It was almost as if the other passengers had a sixth sense, really.

Tim looked out the window, "Big City? Hardly," Tim spat out as he scanned over Jump City's horizon, unimpressed, "Is this really what the Titans protect?" Tim asked with disappointment clear in his voice.

"Listen, I know it's no crime ridden Gotham, but for now, this is home," Dick patted Tim on the back. Despite Dick's attempts to raise Tim's spirits, it didn't even come close to the smallest morale boost.

Tim took another glance at Jump City, "Meh, I guess it could work," Tim said, causing a smile to creep on Dick's face. Tim turned back to Dick with an eyebrow raised, "Where's Titans Tower?" He asked as the passengers were instructed by the pilot to leave the plane.

"It's in the bay across town," Dick said pointing out of one of the plane's small windows. Tim squinted his eyes to be able to make out a small 'T' off in the distance.

Dick and Tim walked off of the airliner and into a tight hallway of the airport. They stuck close together thanks to the large crowd that was getting off the plane with them, "Don't tell me you guys were living in a giant letter," Tim grinned.

Dick sighed, "Yeah, but it was crazy back then! It was 2006 for God's sake!"

Tim chuckled, "Chill, old man. How did you even get that building to stand up?" Tim asked, spotting his luggage being sent out on the track. He quickly grabbed his brown suitcase and waited for Dick to get his.

"I don't know, ask Cyborg," Dick said. He leaned against the track, awaiting his own luggage, "Wait, did you just call me 'old man?'" Dick furrowed a brow, but diverted his attention to his black suitcase, "I'm only twenty five!" He snatched his suitcase with a frown.

"Cyborg? He's still here?" Tim asked as the two walked out of the airport lobby and outside to the busy street.

"Of course he is. He's in charge of the town now," Dick explained.

Tim looked down both ways of the street. Each side full of people doing shady, and most likely illegal, things. You don't just wear a heavy coat and sunglasses to wait at the airport during Spring, " He's doing a great job," Tim said sarcastically.

"He does the best he can. You know he's only one man... robot-thing," Dick said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Batman's only one man," Tim said with a high sense of self worth.

"Yeah, with like, eight hundred sidekicks," Dick countered, shutting up Tim instantly.

"Whatever," Ah, the classic sign of argument defeat, "Where are we going to be staying?" Tim asked, changing the subject.

Yeah, it worked, "Titans Tower, hopefully. If it isn't in need of any major repairs, that is," Dick answered. He cupped his hands over his eyes to block the morning sun.

Tim nodded in false approval, "Right, it definitely stayed perfectly fine during ten years without any maintenance whatsoever," Tim said in a mocking tone.

Dick stared at the ground for a moment, "Good point. Maybe Cyborg has room for us for a couple of days."

Tim's frown turned upside down, "Great!" He approved with a raised thumb, "I can't believe we're going to be staying with a Justice Leaguer!" Tim exclaimed excitedly, not caring who could have heard him. His mood seemed to have completely flipped from taking jabs at Cyborg's guardian skills.

"Sh! Quiet!" Dick put his hand over Tim's mouth, scanning the surrounding area to make sure nobody heard, "Wait," Dick furrowed a brow, "I'm on the Justice League too," Dick said in a hushed voice.

"Yeah, but Cyborg can turn his hand into a freakin' cannon!" Tim said, mimicking Dick's tone.

Dick examined his hand with a frown on his face, "So? I can do... stuff too," Dick turned his hand over, his face getting a depressed expression.

"Oh, yeah, you have a staff," Tim rolled his eyes, " A lot you can do with a metal stick."

Dick crossed his arms, "Hey, that staff was pretty damn cool."

Tim sighed, shaking his head, "Dude, staffs are so lame. Every single person who uses a glorified pole is a loser," Tim chuckled.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, monks, the purple Mutant Turtle, and now you," Tim said, crossing his arms as well.

"What do you use, tough guy?" Dick waved for a cab, only to have the driver completely ignore him.

"Batons."

Dick raised both eyebrows as he flashed a grin. He released a chuckle that paved the way for a full blown laughing fit, "Batons!? And you're making fun of me!?" Dick yelled in between gasps for air. His extremely loud laughing was starting to turn heads of passing by civilians.

Tim frowned and furrowed a brow, "But they can conduct electricity and shock people," Tim tried to justify his weapons of choice. This only fed Dick's increasing laughter.

Dick's laughter continued, but eventually died down, "Oh, I bet," He finally replied, wiping a tear from his eye. He let out a few straggling laughs before getting back to business, "We should really get a-" Dick was cut off by a faint explosion in the city.

"Did you hear that?" Tim furrowed a brow, looking towards the source of the noise.

Dick nodded slowly, "Come on!" He ran off from the airport building and towards Jump City's downtown, leaving a confused Tim behind.

As with most metropolitan cities, the downtown had a very modern look. Areas where one would see homes and suburbs were replaced with enormous skyscrapers and countless business buildings, both small and large. The streets were extremely clean, only with the occasional newspapers that littered the pristine street.

"Hey! Wait up!" Tim yelled behind Dick. He stopped momentarily to wait for Tim, but sprinted away from Tim before he could catch up.

Dick glanced over an unpopulated alley, "In here!" He yelled back to Tim who was finally closing the distance between the two. Dick ran into the confined area and dug into a pocket on the inside of his jacket to pull out his mask. Putting it on, he tore open his dress shirt, revealing the dark blue 'V' on his costume. He quickly did the same to his pants, this guy was prepared, dude. Dick opened his suitcase and took out his utility belt and a pair of boots. He quickly clipped the belt over his waist and slid the boots on. Dick Grayson had now become Nightwing.

Tim, who had witnessed the transformation, stood in awe, "Oh, so, um," He looked down at his suitcase, then back at Nightwing, "Just go, I'll be right with you," Tim opened his suitcase only to have his entire ensemble spring out and land on the ground haphazardly.

Nightwing sighed, but ran off again to the source of the noise. As people ran away from the explosion, Nightwing ran towards it, constantly pushing pedestrians out of the way and yelling to clear his path. He constantly checked behind him to see if Tim was finally ready but it was to no avail. Even if Tim was lagging behind, there were people in danger. People that needed his help.

Nightwing eventually slowed his running down. He stopped and tried to focus on any other abnormal noises in the area. Oddly enough, the air was completely still and silent. He stared down to the sidewalk, expecting something to happen during his intense staring match with the ground. Nightwing moved from his still position and began jogging towards the source of the explosion. He could not pinpoint the exact position of the disturbance as there was no smoke, or even civilians around.

Cautiously, Nightwing dug through his utility belt, searching for his trusty communicator. Feeling its familiar shape in his hand, he retrieved his desired device and held it out in front of him. He studied the pitch black screen. Movement by an unknown entity caught his attention. He wasn't sure what who, or what, it was, but he quickly spun around to see it.

As he caught a glimpse of the figure, Nightwing let out a loud sigh, "Really? Dr. Light? Are you serious?" Nightwing spoke out to said villain, apparent disappointment in his voice, "And here I thought I was in trouble," He taunted.

The man clad in bulky black and white armor growled, "Trust me, boy, I am not someone to be taken lightly," Dr. Light bellowed. Nightwing's only response was a pained groan. This only infuriated the villain even more.

Dr. Light raised both of his arms towards Nightwing and produced a pair of bright white beams. Nightwing jumped over one beam and slid under the second as the pair tore through the street and destroyed several cars. In his crouched position, Nightwing quickly propped himself up and extended a metal staff from behind him. Quickly twirling it around, he motioned for Dr. Light to charge towards him.

Dr. Light responded by blasting a van towards our hero, severing it in two and sending both pieces tumbling towards Nightwing. Nightwing sprinted towards the front part of the van and leaped on the hood of it. Balancing himself on his left hand, he pushed off of the tumbling piece of steel and landed safely on the street. Nightwing gave a smirk to Dr. Light after his extraordinary show of skill.

"What's the matter, Doc? Getting too old for this?" Nightwing poked fun at Dr. Light's noticeable wrinkles and graying hair, "Now come on, let's see what you got," He once again taunted Dr. Light. Nightwing took his trained fighting stance, expecting Dr. Light to attack once more.

"Oh, I'll be dee-light-ed!" Dr. Light chortled, Nightwing shook his head in disapproval.

Dr. Light readied his light beams once more, raising his arm, "I'll have you know I don't take puns very lightly!" Both of the combatants stopped and looked towards the source of the noise. Seemingly out of nowhere, Tim, now dressed as Robin, flew towards Dr. Light feet first. Composed of entirely red and black, Tim's version of the Robin costume differed from Dick's take drastically. Tim wore a dark red short sleeve shirt that tightly hugged his muscles, a golden 'R' being the only thing that spruced up his top. It got even blander than that as his pants, boots, gloves, and cape were completely black. Kids these days. Robin completely missed his target and smashed his legs off of the pavement, "Oh God! Oh my God!" Robin curled up on the ground, tightly holding on to his legs.

Dr. Light and Nightwing simultaneously furrowed a brow at the sight, "Uh, Robin?" Nightwing stepped forward, slightly reaching out to his downed ally, "Are you okay?"

Slowly rising up from his downed position, Robin tried standing up. He got as far as his injured knees would allow him, "It's okay. I-I'm okay," Robin let out a sigh and continued to breathe heavily, "Stop... Right there!" He weakly commanded Dr. Light in between breathes. Robin grabbed a small yellow tube from his utility belt and aimed it at the villain.

Dr. Light stood in silent confusion, he turned to Nightwing who only offered him a shrug. Robin pressed a button on the yellow tube, only to have a high velocity net spray towards his face. The force from the impact sent Robin to the ground with a yelp. He was now helplessly tangled in his own device meant for his new enemy.

* * *

**3:00 PM**

**March 7, 2016**

**Murakami High-School, Jump City**

The sound of large bells roared throughout Jump City's most notorious high school. Students flooded into the empty halls as they left their respective classes. An ocean of teenagers formed inside the school, devouring anything in its path as it tried to escape the building. Not all classes were let go, however. There were the few teachers and instructors that insisted that they release their students at the official time of 3:01.

"Don't forget your homework: page eleven, one to thirty," An older man in a brown suit spoke loudly to his class, pointing to said assignment on his chalkboard, "Got it, Jaime?" The class snickered as he eyed one of his students in the front row.

Jaime sunk back in his seat and shrugged both of his shoulders, "Oh, sure thing Mr. Payton," He spoke sarcastically, obnoxiously nodded his head. His long jet-black hair covered his face as he stopped making an ass out of himself.

"More like Mr. Gay-ton," A low, rough voice spoke out from the back of the classroom. Jaime quickly turned back to the other student, smirking wildly.

Mr. Payton simply fixed his glasses, "Will that be a detention for you, Mr. Testas?" He folded both of his hands behind his back. His stare pierced into the student's very soul. As one would expect, detentions were nothing new to this particular student.

"I don't know, sir, but it's time to go!" As the voice in the back sounded off once more, the crowd of students overran Mr. Payton and filled out into the hallways.

Students tightly held on to their books as the few that needed to catch the bus raced through the hallways. Luckily, Jaime lived in a close proximity to the school, easily within walking distance. Jaime had transferred to Murakami a year ago, but it barely felt any different from his old school in Mexico City. He fit in very quickly, thanks to his natural "I-don't-care-what-you-think-of-me" attitude and fashion.

He left through the school doors empty-handed. Climbing down the set of cement stairs from the front of the building, he remembered Mr. Payton's class assignment. Jaime turned back to the school for a split second before continuing his trek to his residence. Even if he wanted to excel in school, he had a reputation to keep at Murakami. He was cool, he needn't any of this homework nonsense.

Jaime rummaged through his baggy, khaki cargo pants in search for his music player. It was sort of a tradition for him; during his walk home, he would listen to whatever music played in his headphones. There wasn't much of a selection, but it was enough to keep him occupied for the fifteen minute walk home. Now that he thought about it, his music was getting a little outdated. Retrieving songs was harder for him, as he thought paying for something so negligible was barely worth it.

As he finally felt the device in his palm, he felt a hand grasp his shoulder. The person behind quickly pulled Jaime back and positioned him into a headlock, the person's muscles barely allowed Jaime to breathe properly, "Hey, Jaime-boy!" The one holding Jaime gave a hearty laugh. It was Testas. Paco Testas, and one of Jaime's closest friends, to be exact. His clothes never seemed to change; white shirt and faded jeans. Damn but he pulled it off, though.

"Hey, Paco!" Jaime happily greeted his long-time friend.

A new sound greeted the pair's ears: the heavy tapping of high heels, "You both are complete idiots!" Ah, that was Brenda Del Vecchio, another of Jaime's friends. The girl looked Irish, had an Italian last name, grew up Mexican, and was now American. Damn, and when I say 'she looks Irish' I mean straight-up from the homeland. Red hair, green eyes, pale skin, freckles, and all, "Way to screw it up the entire class. Mr. Payton's going to be checking homework like a hawk," She scolded the two, crossing her arms in anger.

Brenda was a model student, neither Jaime nor Paco could think of why she would be worried. Jaime and Paco exchanged confused faces, "Who cares?" Paco finally spoke up for the two.

Brenda scoffed, throwing her arms to her sides, "I have things to do!"

"Since when did you have a social life?" Jaime jokingly asked, his sentence slowly degrading to chuckles.

Brenda clenched her fists and wore an expression of pure hate, "Since I was moving!" She yelled to the both of them.

Jaime and Paco stood completely silent for a moment, "You're moving?" The two asked simultaneously.

Brenda facepalmed, "I told you guys already!"

"When?"

"Yesterday!"

Jaime rapidly shook his head, "When?! Where?!"

Brenda shrugged her shoulders, "Whenever we pack everything up. We're moving to a small farm in Bludhaven," She explained to the two. Paco's shock had not yet allowed him to even utter the simplest word.

"Bludhaven? But-but that's on the other side of the country!" Paco finally responded, "How are you supposed to visit?" Brenda shook her head slightly at Paco's question. Jaime patted Paco on the back.

"Jeez Brenda, way to drop a bombshell," Jaime said, crossing his arms.

"Bombshell? I've already told you two!" Brenda yelled, irritation in her voice. Jamie and Paco nervously scratched their heads, they could not for the life of them remember her ever telling them before.

"Whe-"

"Don't even."

Jaime stepped closer towards Brenda, "You can't just leave, we're family," Jaime motioned to the trio, "Besides, what could be wrong with Jump City?"

"How about all the people in tights that run around causing mayhem?"

"Do you think Bludhaven doesn't have anyone like that?" Jaime countered.

Brenda sighed and shrugged, "Look, it's not even up to me. My dad got a job in Lexcorp, so we're going to be moving around."

"How did an alcoholic get a job at Lexcorp?" Paco asked, slightly smirking. Jaime smacked the back of his head.

"Paco, I suggest you leave," Brenda simply stated, trying to be as calm as she possibly could.

"But-"

"_Now_." With that, Paco stepped away from the other two and continued his journey home. Jaime silently watched him walk away, torn whether to be sorry for. He knew that Paco didn't mean anything by it, the kid wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

Nevertheless, this left the two of them alone. Jaime had often wondered if he had any feelings for Brenda. They had grown up together and she was basically his sister, it'd be weird. Jaime sighed and turned to look Brenda directly in the eyes, "So this is it, huh? You're really going,"

Brenda continued to look at Jaime, her eyes didn't hold any sorrow, however. She seemed emotionless, something that was a bit of a bad habit for her. She nodded her head slightly, "It would seem that way."

The two continued walking to their respective homes. The three of them, including Paco, have lived on the same block for sixteen years. It's going to be more than odd not having her around anymore. It was as if a close family member had died. If Brenda was in fact leaving soon, he needed to tell her something: his biggest secret. The secret he had kept to himself for a little over a year now. Now, this may seem very confusing to you, as a lot is going on in such a short time. Deal.

The two crossed the main street and stepped onto the sidewalk leading to their houses, "If this is really it," Jaime looked to the sky, wondering if he should go one, "I need to tell you something," He had now crossed the line of no return, he needed to tell her.

Brenda leaned in closer to her friend, "What is it? Did you do something?" Her voice became more serious.

"Well, no and yes. I did a lot of things, most of them good," Jaime replied.

"And the others?"

Jaime slightly turned his head to the side, "Others not so good. But that's not what I needed to tell you," He took several deep breathes, holding on to the few precious seconds he had left. Brenda intently stared at him waiting for his 'big secret.' Jaime let out a long sigh, "Dammit, I'm sorry. I just don't think I can tell you."

Brenda furrowed a brow, this time because of concern, "Why not? You know you could tell me anything," She put a hand on Jaime's shoulder.

Jaime knew he was sounding like an attention-seeking prick, but he was honestly torn about this, "You wouldn't be able to look at me the same way again," Jaime said, his eyes lowering.

"It can't be that bad."

"You'd be surprised."

Brenda, now getting slightly irritated by the whole ordeal, let out a sigh of her own, "Listen, I won't make a big deal about it. I won't tell anybody else," She reassured her friend.

Jaime looked back up to her, "Promise?"

"Cross my heart, hope to die," Brenda responded, tracing a cross over the left side of her chest.

Jaime nodded an lifted his shirt over his head, taking it completely off. Brenda shielded her eyes from the sight and looked at the sidewalk beneath them. Jaime gently pulled her hands away from her eyes, "You're going to want to see this," With a quick inhalation, Brenda witnessed something behind Jaime's back glow a bright red. A thin black material covered his entire body before her eyes. Two light blue spike arose from his back over the black covering. Jaime's upper torso, shoulders, and knees became reinforced with the same light blue color. The covering then engulfed his head, followed by a light blue armor outlining. Jaime, knowing the transformation was complete, finally opened his eyes. His sclera was now red with his pupils a bright yellow.

"Wh- Wha-" Brenda's eyes widened as she stepped away from what was her friend, "What..."

"I'm the Blue Beetle," Jaime revealed to Brenda confidently.

Brenda continued to step away, "Jaime... No, Jaime, no!"

Blue Beetle reach his arm out to Brenda, "What's wrong?"

"You're a monster!" Brenda shouted to him and turned to run from him.

"I'm a hero!" Blue Beetle yelled back to her.

Brenda stopped in her tracks, turning her head so she can view Blue Beetle with her peripheral vision, "Not even close," With that, she sprinted towards her house, her eye tearing up. How could her best friend be the villainous Blue Beetle?

Standing alone on the sidewalk, Blue Beetle's head hung low, his only emotion was depression. He looked up to the direction Brenda was running in. He had never felt this terrible in his life. Wait, why should he be sad? He's the freakin' Blue Beetle, hero of Jump City! If Brenda thought saving people was so terrible, then who needs her? Blue Beetle's expression was now that of pure rage. The giant scarab on his back, which was the cause of his transformation, spouted out four transparent wings. He wasted no time and lifted himself from the ground and began soaring high over Jump City.

This seemed to be another tradition of his: when his life became stressful, he would lose himself in simply flying around his city, "I'll have you know I don't take puns very lightly!" Blue Beetle became instantly alert, looking around for the source of the yell. He identified one of Jump City's smaller villains, Dr. Light, fighting what seemed to be Nightwing and... Robin? Weren't they the same person?

Eh, time-travel, most likely. One of the things that makes the world of heroes so different from ours is that time travel is a perfectly legitimate excuse. Nevertheless, Robin seemed to now be in trouble, as he was trapped in a net. Blue Beetle aimed himself at the battle and prepared to heroically dive in and save the day.

* * *

**A/N: Chapter three is done! Don't worry, there's a reason as to why Brenda hates Blue Beetle and all that. Also, uh, while I've got your attention, I'd like to see some reviews. Damn, I could've said that better. What I mean is more of constructive ****criticism, not just 'dud ths es kewl!11' I'd actually like to know how to make this a better story because if I don't know what you guys like, I'm going to keep this style up. Then you'll be all like 'Why is still this terrible?' But I don't care if you don't review, I'm fine writing like this, I just want to know how I can make it better for you.**


	4. Rude Awakenings

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or DC**

* * *

Chapter 4 - Rude Awakenings

**3:41 P.M.**

**March 7, 2016**

**Downtown, Jump City **

Robin was trapped in his own net, the street was filled with debris from the ensuing battle, and Nightwing had a lot of ground to cover if he even hoped to get up in Dr. Light's grill. You know, even with all of these disadvantages, the good guys still had the upper hand in this fight. Even though he had improved from their last confrontation a couple of years ago, Dr. Light was still pretty low-tier. Just rank him under Captain Boomerang and you should get the general idea.

"Ti... Robin, just stay there, this shouldn't take much longer," Nightwing said, twirling his staff like a little girl. He stepped back with his right foot to reinforce his center of balance.

Dr. Light glanced over to the trapped Robin, thinking of a possible escape plan. He hadn't even robbed the synothium plant yet, instead his gear malfunctioned and caused a small explosion. Dr. Light's expressionless face soon adopted one of pure malice as he raised one of his arms to the helpless boy wonder, "Take one more step, and I kill the boy," His voice was now darker than before. No light related puns, no cliche catchphrases, just a legitimate threat.

"You better put that arm down before I shove it up your spectrum!" Robin yelled to the villain. He then turned to Nightwing with a satisfied smirk, "See what I did there? Damn, I'm on a roll."

Nightwing simply gave Dr. Light a friendly smile in response to his threat. Moving his arms to retrieve several gadgets from the back of his utility belt, including smoke bombs, flash bangs, and his upgraded bird-a-rangs. He didn't like to call them that, "Put down your arm, _now_." Nightwing gave him his first and last warning, waiting for the moment to release his weapons.

In one moment, Dr. Light actually climbed his way up to semi-low-tier, but in another, all of that changed. With the sound of the wind ripping filling the street, Dr. Light was tackled by a blue blur, kicking up a massive amount of dust. As he fell, Dr. Light fired off his light beam, sending it tearing through a nearby office building. Nightwing quickly assessed the damage, trying to see if there were any potential casualties. Luckily, the office seemed to be closed as it was completely void of workers. Which was weird considering it was a Monday.

As the dust settled, a man clad in blue and black held Dr. Light by the collar with one hand, "You know, you should la-" The supposed hero increased his grip and slightly choked the villain mid-pun. He gagged as Blue Beetle looked down at Dr. Light, studying him.

Jaime had never seen this guy before, maybe he was new? His age pointed to the contrary, however. The villain raised his arm to Blue Beetle's face, a bright light beginning to emit from it. Blue Beetle used his free hand to quickly tear off the machine Dr. Light kept on his arm to produce his light beams. As he tore it off, electricity surged from inside of it, shocking Dr. Light's now exposed arm.

Nightwing watched the scene unfold with careful optimism. Could this stranger be a hero? He is fighting Dr. Light, after all. Robin was staring at the black and blue figure as well, eyes filled with wonder. Neither of them had ever encounter this potential friend, or foe, before.

Blue Beetle struggled to keep his complexion in front of the legendary Nightwing and, the albeit lesser-known, Robin. Fighting people like this guy gave him such a rush unlike anything else could produce. On the inside, Blue Beetle was giggling like a little school girl, but he had to maintain his newly formed reputation. No doubt will these two swamp him with questions after he saves the day.

Dr. Light ripped Blue Beetle from his fantasy as the villain used his other arm to blast a beam of light, striking the hero directly in the face. Dr. Light, still being held by Blue Beetle gave out a hearty, victorious laugh. Nightwing sprang into action under the presumption that the stranger was now in danger. With a hate filled growl, Blue Beetle released three brutal jabs into the center of Dr. Light's face. Nightwing slid to halt after witnessing the punches, surprised at the sheer brutality Dr. Light endured.

Coughing erratically, Dr. Light spit out a pair of teeth. Dr. Light weakly raised both of his arms as high as he could manage. Blue Beetle accepted the surrender and dropped the villain back down to the pavement. He examined Dr. Light and then he studied at his hand. Within moments his arm transformed into a machine looking almost identical to Dr. Light's arm cannons. Aiming towards Robin, he fired a bright blue beamed towards the hero, ripping the net and setting him free. Robin yelped as the beam slightly grazed both of his arms.

Blue Beetle's arm reverted back to its normal appearance as he witnessed the boy wonder escape his netted prison. Nightwing slowly approached the stranger, his alignment now clearer, "Thanks for the assist," Nightwing simply stated, motioning to Dr. Light, who was now in the fetal position.

Blue Beetle turned to look at the approaching hero. His transparent wings emerged once again, causing Nightwing to step back slightly and draw out his staff. With a burst of wind, Blue Beetle launched himself into the air and soared away, leaving Nightwing and Robin to stand in awe.

"Nailed it," Blue Beetle said to himself with a smirk as he flew over the city.

* * *

**7:26 P.M.**

**March 7, 2016**

**Fortress of Solitude, Antarctica**

"Thank you very much."

"Thank... you... vaury much."

"Close, but no, not 'vaury,' it's very."

"What's difference?"

"'Vaury' isn't a word."

"How do you know?"

Superman let out a brief chuckle, "I think I know a bit about the English language, Kara," Superman was causally leaning on one of the Fortress' many decorated tables, "Besides, you really need to- are you even listening to me?" Superman stood up firmly, glaring at the small girl who was sitting in front of a small television set. She was the same girl that Superman had rescued from the base in the Mojave, she still wore her tattered black jumpsuit. Teaching English was difficult enough, but trying to teach it to someone who won't listen is even harder.

The Kryptonian girl, Kara, was intently watching the television, her deep blue eyes glued to the screen as her face continually brightened from the artificial glow of the show. The 'exciting' program she had been so enthralled in was simply static, there was, surprisingly, a very limited amount of channels one could actually receive in the middle of Antarctica. Superman looked on with confusion at Kara, snapping his fingers to get her attention, but it was a lost cause.

Superman walked over to the small television and knelt down beside Kara, "You really need to learn this," He tried reasoning with her, though he had received no reply "Kara?" He waved his hand over her face, breaking her television-induced trance.

She looked directly towards Superman, wildly batting her eyes, "What?"

"English?" Superman reminded her, furrowing a brow.

Kara turned back to watch her dead air, "Eh, I got a well understanding," She nonchalantly blew the Man of Steel off, shrugging as she did.

Superman shut the television off, much to Kara's protest, "Listen, if you want to fit into American society, you need to learn this."

Kara let out a pained sigh and rolled her eyes, "You can't tell me what to do," Kara forcefully moved Superman's arm out of the way and turned back on her beloved static, "I am the older, after every."

Superman shook his head in response, "You know what? You'll fit in just fine."

"Great! When do we go?" Kara asked, tilting her head to the side, but not breaking contact with the television.

Superman leaned back on one of the tables, "Go where?" He asked, momentarily scanning the large room for anything out of the ordinary.

"The place you always speak of. The 'American?'" Kara actually looked away from the television set and peered over towards Superman.

Superman chuckled, "Oh, you mean the good ol' USA," The hero corrected her with a light-hearted tone. Superman's smiled quickly faded after his answer, however. He had not revealed Kara to the Justice League yet, nor anyone for that matter. Superman had simply been training her to learn proper English for her to blend in with society, thus making her new life on Earth that much easier.

Truth is, Superman didn't know how the Justice League would react to this, her story barely made any sense. She just suddenly crash lands in the middle of Nevada, almost destroys an entire military base, and she's Kryptonian? Superman was supposedly the only surviving member of his race from Krypton, but here she is: living proof that there may be even more survivors. She refused to tell him about her past on multiple occasions for some reason, he'd rather not pry. Nevertheless, he felt as if it was his duty to protect the only other Kryptonian that was still alive.

It's probably not helping that he is keeping her a secret, and the longer he waits the worse off he will be, but he can't tell them in fear for her safety, "What's this?" Kara's question reassigned Superman's attention. Kara had found the remote to the television that had kept her entertained far longer than it should have.

"It's for the TV, you can change channels with it," Superman explained, pointing to said device.

Kara's eyes instantly lit up, "What do you mean? How?" She began rapidly pressing the remote's many buttons. Superman lifted himself off from the table to assist. Surprisingly enough, Kara was not suffering from a traumatic heart attack with all the energy that was exploding from the small girl, "Nothing's- Ah!" Kara's eyes sent an all-too-familiar pair of red beams towards the remote, liquefying it in her hands. She quickly dropped what was left of the remote control and brought her hands up to her eyes to try and comfort the pain that shooting lasers out of your eyes would bring.

"Kara!" Superman rushed over to the Kryptonian girl.

"It's well, I'm fine," She said, her voice was flat and dull. She wiped her hands off, getting rid of the melted plastic from the former remote control.

Superman stood firmly in place, "Are you sure? I know how rough Heat Vision could be the first couple times."

"I said I'm fine," Kara rose from her seated position, the two looked at each other. Kara's eyebrows were arched and she wore a scowl, Superman, however, stared back blankly, "I'm going to have sleep," She walked straight past the Man of Steel and opened a large pair of metal doors. Kara moved into the crystal-like corridors as the doors automatically slid shut behind her.

Superman sighed and lounged on a couch in front of the television. He reached for his desired remote only to find a puddle of bubbling plastic, "Yeah, how could I forget?" He murmured to himself. With an annoyed groan, Superman lifted himself from his comfortable couch and knelt down beside the television set. He manually pressed the channel buttons on the television and quickly flipped through all five or so channels.

After passing British and Australian networks, he landed on an American broadcasting station. It was the news, of course, what else was he to get? As the static subsided, a young woman with beach blonde hair and emerald green eyes spoke, behind her a giant American flag took up the background, "Today's top story: more nuclear trouble around the globe as the English capital of London sustained a direct hit from another untraceable nuclear weapon. Reports say that no ICBMs, that's inter-continental ballistic missiles, were reportedly launched. With this being the second major city to be mysteriously destroyed, the Justice League of America has officially stated that an investigation into the attacks is now underway."

Superman slouched even further down into his couch. Said investigation was hardly turning up any evidence to anything. Whatever, or whoever, was doing this barely left any traces. The only thing they had turned up was an older couple said they saw a tiny projectile that flew into the center of the British city before it was disintegrated. No matter what happened, the Justice League had no idea how to stop it, or even if any other city will fall victim to these strange attacks.

"On a lighter note; astronomers are baffled at what seems to be a week-long solar eclipse that will greet us in June. Astronomers do not know what day this phenomenon will start, but expect to have a very eventful week," Superman had long since drawn his attention away from the news cast. His mind was completely empty, this was how he 'slept.'

True, he could have legitimate sleep, but God forbid something actually happens when he's in deep sleep. Who's going to be able to defend the world if Darkseid suddenly teleported over? Batman? Yeah, good luck. The air was eerily still and the only noise heard was the occasional tapping of footsteps made by the Fortress' robotic servants. Of course, the room wasn't silent for Superman as he could hear thousands of other things going on, but that's beside the point.

The silence was broken as the metal doors slid open once more. Kara stepped out, her arms crossed and face showed an irritated pout, "I can't sleep," She simply stated, her voice held anger.

Superman glanced over to the young Kryptonian girl, "Join the club."

Kara furrowed a brow and tilted her head, "What club?"

"Never mind."

* * *

**2:01 A.M.**

**March 8, 2016**

**Sub Diego, CA**

"Uh... Eh-wha?" Lorena stirred as she opened her eyes for the first time in two days. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the world as she sat up and stretched her relaxed muscles. She let out a deep, relieved sigh, causing air bubbles to escape from her mouth. Her heart rate instantly sped up as she realized what had happened two days ago: she was under water. Lorena was too preoccupied with the memories that suddenly filled her mind to even scream.

Lorena looked to her surroundings. She seemed to be in a sports dome, but it was crammed with hundreds of other people. Like her, these people were lying on metal tables, hospital beds, stretchers, and anything that could hold a person up. The dome was filled with the sounds of chatting and pained groans as the former residents, now survivors, of San Diego woke up from their own small comas similar to Lorena's.

She was surprised herself as to how well she was taking this whole 'living and breathing underwater' thing. Sure, she was too mentally exhausted to really care, but nonetheless. Lorena looked down to her metal table, noting that her clothes remained the same from when she was still in her home. Suddenly she was gripped by fear once more, a lobster had climbed on her table. Even though it looked to mean no harm, Lorena had a phobia for crabs and the like and couldn't stand them. Pulling her arm back, she sent forth a powerful punch that connected with the crustacean and sent it twirling through the water.

"Hey, do you mind?" A man in a dark blue costume quickly caught the lobster and Lorena's attention, "I was talking to this guy," He set the crustacean down and approached Lorena. His dark blue costume was accented with light blue lines and over-sized shoulder pads.

"What's going on here?" Lorena motioned to the other survivors in the dome.

"That's a funny way to say 'sorry,'" The man said, rolling his eyes.

"Are you serious?"

"Completely."

Lorena let out a quick sigh, "I'm. Sorry."

The man nodded, "Apology accepted. Now, what were you asking about?"

Lorena once again motioned to the crowd of survivors, "What the hell happened? How am I breathing right now!?"

"Oh, that... I'm not real sure. All I know is you guys got hit by a nuclear weapon, or something, and we had to go door-to-door getting people who were still alive out. As for the breathing most likely a mutation. Luckily, you didn't have any weird side-effects," The man explained, "Radiation works in mysterious ways."

Lorena tried to process all of the new information, "Mutation? I'm mutated?"

"You and about a hundred other people," The man replied and crossed his arms.

Lorena furrowed a brow, "Did you mutate?"

"No, I'm simply an Atlantean," The man extended his hand, "Garth."

Lorena took his hand and shook, "Lorena."

"Nice name," Garth let go of her hand, "Unfortunately, Lorena, you're going to have to stay on that table for a couple of weeks."

"What? Why?" Lorena perked up, Garth put his hand on her shoulder, slightly pushing her down.

"We have never dealt with a case like this, and now we have dozens. We're not sure what could happen to you people," Garth continued, "It's just safety precautions, we don't want any of you dying on us."

Lorena fell back on the table, she looked directly up to the dome's roof. She was terrified of this entire ordeal on the inside, even if she did know it was all a dream. How could this not be a dream? Radiation-induced mutations, water breathing, talking to lobsters? No, not possible. Then again, those aren't the weirdest thing to happen in a reality filled with superheroes. We're talking the kind of reality where Matter-Eater Lad and Bouncing Boy are actually worth a damn.

Lorena turned to Garth, "That's it? I just wait here and hope not to die?"

Garth shrugged, "If you want to be that blunt about things, then yeah."

Lorena turned back to the ceiling, "Great."

"Hey, it's not all bad. You _are_ breathing, right?" Garth gave her a smile which he did not receive back.

Lorena nodded her head slightly, "I guess you're ri-" Lorena was cut off by a deafening scream from just outside the dome. The dome started to violently shake causing Lorena and several other mutants to fall from their beds and tables. The roof to the dome shot rubble down on the survivors, "Garth!" Lorena tried standing up, but her overall lack of strength wouldn't allow it. Suddenly, the roof collapsed, Garth sprang into action to destroy as many pieces of large debris as he could before they hit the survivors.

"Aqualad, it's been so long!" Garth recognized that voice, but he was not supposed to hear it, that would be impossible.

Garth gritted his teeth, "Trident," His expression turned even angrier as his suspicions were confirmed. The one who had caused the chaos was none other than the egotistical villain himself.

Trident floated in the middle of the now roofless dome, "Trident? You mean 'Tridents?'" He had not come alone, instead a small army full of his copies aided him.

"How did you... You were in jail!" Garth swam towards the look alikes.

The Tridents laughed, the one in front seemed to be the original, "You really don't think a prison could hold me, do you? Tell me Aqualad, do you remember the last time we fought?" Trident gave a malicious smile.

"It's Tempest now."

The Trident leader furrowed a brow, "My bad."

"Tempest!" Garth, along with just about everyone else in the dome, turned to the source of the sudden noise. Fortunately, it was Aquaman along with several Atlantean soldiers clad in golden armor. Aquaman tossed a golden trident, the Atlantean weapon of choice, towards Tempest. He nodded and gladly caught the weapon and aimed it towards Trident. As in the villain, not the weapon.

"Atlanteans, stand your ground!" One of the more decorated soldiers shouted to his men. The Tridents quickly swarmed the soldiers and a massive battle ensued.

Lorena covered her head and kept close to the ground as one of the soldiers was engaged in an intense battle with one of the Tridents. They were both throwing punches and kicking wildly, each determined to best the other. The Atlantean soldier tackled the Trident, the two collided with several metal tables, crushing them completely. The pair of combatants fought their way passed Lorena, causing her to hide between two of the tables.

The Atlantean soldier hit the ground, unconscious in front of Lorena signifying the Trident's victory over the fight. The Trident knelt down next to the unconscious soldier and prepared to end his life with the soldier's own weapon. Lorena closed her eyes tightly as she knew what was going to happen next to the Atlantean. However, she didn't hear anything, not even a stab or a gag.

Lorena opened her eyes only to be greeted by a close-up of the Trident's face, "Well, well, what have we here?" The Trident grabbed Lorena by her long black hair and lifted her up. Lorena let out a high-pitched pained scream as she rose from the ground. The Trident leaned in towards the helpless girl, "You'll make an excellent trophy..." A devious smile grew on the Trident's face.

"No!" Lorena lifted the bottom half of her body up and kicked the Trident in the face with both of her feet. The Trident let go of her hair and the momentum from the push sent the both of them floating away from each other. Lorena summoned the strength to stand up after the hit.

"You insolent brat!" The Trident rubbed his chin and slowly approached the girl, "I should kill you for that!"

Lorena grabbed the nearby trident from the unconscious soldier and raised it towards the clone, "You're welcome to try," She taunted and felt completely badass while doing it. The Trident clone let out a battle cry and rushed towards Lorena. She lunged the weapon towards the Trident who simply grabbed the end of it and snapped the Atlantean weapon in half. He then threw a forceful punch sliding Lorena back as it connected with her jaw. She responded with a jab of her own that struck the Trident's chest. It probably hurt Lorena more than it did the clone.

The Trident once again grabbed Lorena, this time by the neck, "I admire your worthless effort, human. I might just spare you, solely for pleasu-GAH!" Three spikes from a golden trident tore through the clone's chest and almost stabbed Lorena. The Trident let go of Lorena and she gently floated to the ground.

The clone fell, behind him, Tempest stood, "Lorena, fancy meeting you here," He gave her a smirk as he pulled his trident out from the clone.

"Garth, what's going on?" Lorena asked, the panic in her voice was clear, "What are these things?"

"They're Trident, one of Atlantis' worst criminals. I fought him a couple times with the Teen Titans," Tempest explained. Another Atlantean soldier flew by the two of them, tossed by one of the Tridents, "Listen, I'll tell you later, just get down!" Tempest ordered Lorena as he rushed into battle once more.

"Wait, I can help!" Lorena replied, however Tempest could not hear her. The Atlantean soldiers and Tridents were at a stalemate, neither of them seemed to have an upper hand. With her fists clenched, she followed behind Tempest in attacking the Tridents without him knowing. At least she was fighting for something, these people couldn't defend themselves. Hell, most of them had trouble breathing.

* * *

**A/N: And that concludes chapter four. The actual creation of the New Teen Titans is pretty close, so sorry for the extremely long build up, but I don't just want a team to be formed out of thin air. **


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